As of: August 2009

General Information: Electric Mobility

On 19 August, 2009 the Federal government adopted a National Development Plan for Electric Mobility. This plan constitutes a crucial element of ecological industrial policy. Worldwide there are currently almost one billion vehicles, 700 million of which are passenger vehicles. This figure is set to double by 2030 at the latest. This means that we and almost all industrialised and newly industrialising countries worldwide will be faced with the major challenge of having to reduce transport-induced CO2 and pollutant emissions and dependence on oil imports. As a result we may expect stringent caps on emissions in the most important automobile markets of the future - primarily in Asia - in the 10 to 15 years to come or even access bans to inner city areas for vehicles with combustion engines.

The Federal government's active support of electric mobility not only promotes the quality of life in our cities and reduces our dependence on oil it also strengthens the competitiveness of one of the pillars of our economy - the automobile industry. Electric mobility will come - be it only because of the framework conditions outlined above. The sooner we recognise this, the more added value will be generated in Germany.

However, to fully exploit the huge CO2 emissions reduction potential of electric vehicles, the electricity required has to come from renewable energy sources. If renewable sources are not used we will merely shift the emissions output from vehicles to power plants.

We will thus also link two sectors in which Germany has a leading position worldwide: automobile manufacturing and plant manufacturing in the renewable energy sector. In future, Germany will not only deliver electric vehicles but also plants which generate the electricity required in a clean and safe manner.

With its national development plan the Federal government has established a solid framework which must be fleshed out in the months and years to come.